Serena Williams shows off her pole dancing skills after being criticised for 'disgusting' weight loss drug advert

Serena Williams has showed off her pole dancing skills after being criticised for featuring in a 'disgusting' weight loss drug advert.

The legendary Tennis champion, 44, promoted a weight loss drug and credited the GLP-1 provider Ro for her body transformation in a controversial ad on Super Bowl Sunday.

Serena, a sports icon known for holding a total of 23 Grand Slam tennis titles, became a sponsor for the brand last year after revealing she lost over 30 pounds in a single year after turning to the GLP-1 drug.

She faced huge backlash for the advert, with one fan branding it 'disgusting' that she is 'pushing weight loss drugs' while another said that 'we're cooked' because the 'greatest tennis player of all time is on Ozempic'.

But brushing off the controversy, Serena took to her Instagram Story on Wednesday to share a clip showing off her new figure as she practiced pole dancing. 

Serena said she was 'back at it' as she lifted herself up on the pole, captioning the video: 'I'm back to training on my 2 favorite devices.' 

It comes as she has been facing criticism from fans for admitting she turned to weight loss drugs amid her post-playing, health journey. 

In a teaser advertisement, that was aired ahead of the commercial to premiere during the Super Bowl LX, Serena teamed up with the telehealth provider Ro to promote weight loss. 

She has been receiving significant backlash for the collaboration ahead of the commercial to air during America's biggest NFL game. 

In the commercial that aired in the first half of the game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Serena was seen injecting the weight loss drug.

She was also seen making another order on Ro's mobile app, revealing they are releasing a new version of the medication in pill-form. 

In the advertisement, she explained that she not only lost weight but has reduced knee joint stress, steadied her blood sugar levels and lowered her cholesterol. 

In August 2025, she admitted that she turned to the weight loss drug after giving birth because she was struggling to get back to the weight she 'needed to be,' per People.

She gave birth to her second child, daughter Adira River Ohanian, in August 2023. 

In addition to Adira, Serena and her husband Alexis Ohanian are also parents to daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., eight. 

'I never was able to get to the weight I needed to be no matter what I did, no matter how much I trained. It was crazy because I'd never been in a place like that in my life where I worked so hard, ate so healthy and could never get down to where I needed to be at.' 

She also told the outlet that she began using the weight loss drug in 2024 after she finished breast feeding her youngest daughter Adira. 

'I had never taken shortcuts in my career and always worked really hard. I know what it takes to be the best. 

'So it was very frustrating to do all the same things and never be able to change that number on the scale or the way my body looked.' 

Serena — whose husband Alex is also an investor in Ro and serves on its board — added at the time: 'I lost over 31 pounds using my GLP-1 and I was really excited about that weight loss. 

'I feel great. I feel really good and healthy. I feel light physically and light mentally. 

At the beginning of the month, fans were anticipating exciting news after it was revealed Serena was set to announce a shock comeback in her Super Bowl commercial. 

Rather than her potential return to tennis, fans turned to X to share their displeasure with her promoting GLP-1s.